Fans of combat sports, particularly wrestling, boxing and MMA, had been promised an appearance by former two-weight UFC world champion Conor McGregor at the recent WrestleMania. With many websites and gossip columns suggesting the popular Irishman was headed towards a WWE debut, it was expected that he would sit ringside at WrestleMania with the intention of sizing up the competition. This caused much excitement, but it failed to materialise in the end.

The fighter known simply as “Notorious” was a no show. His absence was felt by followers who had convinced themselves there was something more to it than a former fighter and sports personality taking in one of the biggest nights of the year for wrestling lovers. Conor’s planned attendance had whipped some into a frenzy, but the excitement generated there was nothing compared to the drama that followed his seat lying vacant throughout the night.

McGregor declined the invitation to WrestleMania, but what does that mean for the fighter and his possible future in the sport? That’s a question many have been asking themselves since fight night with a healthy mix of guesses, rumours and gossip. The top Las Vegas betting sites even pushed their odds out on him joining WWE this year, such was the damage done to his reputation by not attending. But what was the story, and why did McGregor fail to show?

What better way to get the news than from the horse’s mouth or, at least, the horse’s Twitter account. Conor took to social media recently to explain why he wasn’t at WrestleMania as promised, and the statement in question raised a few eyebrows. What did he say, and how did fans react? Read on to find out.

Notorious ruffles a few feathers

So, what was the reason McGregor wasn’t at WrestleMania? If you believe the Tweet he sent out in response to the barrage of questions from fans he received on social media, the answer is quite simple. It’s because all wrestlers connected to WWE are afraid of him. A short and sweet answer, something we now expect from Conor, but what the response lacked in word count, it more than made up for in controversy and surprise. It’s fair to say that not everyone agreed with the opinion of the MMA superstar.

The Tweet has since gone viral with more than 50,000 likes and thousands of retweets, sharing it far and wide. The more exposure it got, the more interest it attracted, and the more people chipped in with their opinions, from wrestlers and promoters to managers and fans. If you agree with the thoughts of Conor – even if you don’t think he fully believes them himself – you’ve got to admit the former UFC champion still knows how to make headlines. He’s a promoter’s dream. Even after upsetting just about everyone connected to WWE, including the fighters, it’s fair to say that there’s a lot more interest in Conor signing up at the top wrestling promotion now than there ever was in the past.

The responses to Conor’s statement, as you can imagine, were something of a mixed bag. The mixed martial arts fighter’s fans were supportive as ever but couldn’t hide their disappointment, especially after watching several non-wrestlers compete at WrestleMania. They believe Conor should have been in the ring. Critics of the fighter – who is currently out injured following defeat in his last UFC bout – called McGregor a coward, accusing him of being too scared to share the canvas with giants of the wrestling game. Then we had the WWE fighters who felt like they had been treated with disrespect and weren’t slow in calling it out. Those names were effective with their replies and to the point, with a few big names simply replying, “see you at WrestleMania next year”.

McGregor’s last UFC fight ended in disaster when he was stopped after suffering a broken leg early in the contest. That injury has ruled him out of competing since, so there was never any danger of him being in the ring at this year’s WrestleMania. But the rumours are a move to WWE is the smart choice as his legs are too damaged for MMA, and very few have an interest in seeing him box again.